The Rise and Fall of Topshop

Minor rant time but it’s for a cause I love so it’s worth it. I am so depressed about Topshop at the moment. I’m lucky enough to live in London and therefore have the biggest Topshop range available and I’m struggling to find anything vaguely appealing. As of two years ago my mum, older sister and I could all find different things in Topshop that suited our varying styles and needs but now we just come home empty-handed…..it looks like the size 6 UK tweens have taken over! It’s all lace, sequins and minis. Now I’m not averse to any of these things, but in proportion and done well, please. As I work in fashion I like to think I am capable of looking at most things and figuring out a way to make them work, a blazer perhaps, a belt, accessories….but I haven’t bought anything at Topshop for 9 months?! Most of the clothes just aren’t made for the body of any woman older than 14. I don’t want little high-waisted dresses in florals, I’m 23!! It’s not flattering if you’ve got hips, breasts or a waist. Why waste all these great assets by cloaking them in Little House on the Prairie? I want a decent length dress or a shirt with detail on the BACK as well as the front ( I hate it when they give up on the back and don’t continue the beading, ruching, images etc) I want a well cut skirt to wear with statement tops and dresses that are suitable for work, ie not too low cut or tight, but nothing that makes me looks like I’m in a paper bag. Why is there no middle ground between body-con and potato sack? I just can’t understand why they have stopped catering to the style- conscious in favour of the merely trend-aware.  I see grown women wandering around with little frilly skirts and jeggings and honestly, are they really thinking for themselves or have they picked stuff up simply because it’s there and therefore must be ‘fashion’. I don’t know if standards have fallen mainly as a result of the departure of Jane Shepherdson, perhaps she was holding them back from diving into the full blown teen market. I would almost go as far as saying it’s fashion caricature…it’s as if the designers at Topshop sat down and looked at the catwalks and thought what are the most extreme outrageous unwearable things we can sell. I’m not talking Martin Margiela, Hussein Chalayan, Alexander McQueen, boundary-pushing fashion, I’m talking unwearable clothes for the high street shopper. I apologise if anyone has bought any of the items below (if you can rock them then congratulations) but I really think these examples highlight how bad things have got.  My apologies Topshop, for the tough love.

Source: Topshop.com